Programmatic Ad Ops Specialist – DSP Campaign Role in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This is a solid mid-level programmatic operations role suited for someone with 2–4 years of DSP experience looking to deepen their technical execution skills in a structured, agency-style environment. The focus on high-volume campaign production, QA discipline, and SLA adherence signals a process-driven, operations-heavy culture — think managed-service agency rather than in-house brand team.
Skills you'll develop:
- Cross-DSP fluency (DV360, Amazon DSP, Simpli.fi, Basis) — highly marketable in the programmatic ad tech ecosystem
- CTV/OTT and online video trafficking — fast-growing demand area
- PMP deal management and VAST tag troubleshooting — specialist skills that command premium salaries
- Operational discipline: documentation, naming conventions, escalation frameworks
Compensation: No salary is listed, which is a mild red flag for transparency. For South Africa, programmatic operations roles at this level typically range from ZAR 300,000–480,000/year. The U.S. Eastern hours alignment suggests the company may be a U.S.-based agency outsourcing operations — worth asking whether compensation reflects local or international market rates.
Green flags: Clear success metrics, defined escalation paths, and structured workflows suggest strong mentorship and clear expectations. Watch for: limited strategic exposure — this role is execution-only, so upward mobility into campaign strategy or media planning may require proactive effort or a role change.
Location: South Africa – Remote
Hours: 14:00–23:00 SAST, Monday–Friday, aligned with U.S. Eastern business hours
Employment: Permanent, Full-Time
Role Purpose
Execute and maintain programmatic campaigns accurately and efficiently within MediaPath's established strategy, workflows, and QA standards. This is a hands-on campaign execution role focused on campaign builds, trafficking, pacing, optimisation, troubleshooting, and maintenance.
Key Responsibilities
- Build campaigns, line items, targeting structures, and campaign components within assigned DSPs.
- Traffic creative assets and third-party tags.
- Complete pre-launch campaign QA.
- Monitor campaign pacing and delivery on a daily basis.
- Identify and escalate pacing or delivery risks before they become client-visible.
- Execute routine optimisations and approved campaign changes within defined guidelines.
- Troubleshoot campaign, creative, targeting, and activation issues.
- Escalate complex technical issues to the Senior Programmatic Operations Lead.
- Maintain accurate campaign documentation, naming conventions, and change histories.
- Provide screenshots, compliance documentation, and campaign data when required.
- Support campaign closeout, reconciliation, and reporting processes.
- Work accurately across high volumes of campaigns and line items.
Must-Have Requirements
- 2–4 years of hands-on digital or programmatic campaign execution experience.
- Direct experience building and managing campaigns within at least one major DSP.
- Ability to learn and work across additional platforms quickly.
- Strong attention to detail.
- Comfortable with repetitive, high-volume campaign production where accuracy is critical.
- Strong Excel and Google Sheets skills.
- Comfortable working from insertion orders, build sheets, and campaign specifications.
- Strong written communication.
- Disciplined escalation and issue-management skills.
Preferred Experience
Experience with one or more of:
- DV360
- Basis
- Simpli.fi
- Amazon DSP
- Meta
- YouTube
- VAST and ad-server tags
- PMP deals
- Verification tools
- CTV/OTT
- Online video
- Agency or managed-service campaign operations
Success in the Role
- Campaigns are built correctly the first time.
- Campaigns meet agreed launch SLAs.
- Pacing and delivery issues are identified early.
- Routine changes are completed quickly and accurately.
- Campaign documentation remains clean and up to date.
- QA and escalation procedures are consistently followed.
- The wider programmatic team can rely on accurate, consistent execution.
Please mention the word GLORIOUS and tag RMTM4LjE5Ny4yMy4yNTU= when applying to show you read the job post completely (#RMTM4LjE5Ny4yMy4yNTU=). This is a beta feature to avoid spam applicants. Companies can search these words to find applicants that read this and see they're human.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this role fully remote or is there an office requirement?
What DSP experience is required to apply?
Is there a salary range listed for this position?
What does a typical day look like in this role?
Is there room for career growth into strategy or media planning from this role?
